


sojourner

by scarletite



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, In which Laura is sexiled by Betty, Sharing a Bed, and ends up sharing a bed with the most infuriating girl she's ever met
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 00:01:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13492581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarletite/pseuds/scarletite
Summary: "What do you want, Carmilla?"The dark-haired girl stuffed a mouthful of Chokoa Crunch into her mouth, scraping her bowl obnoxiously. "Cereal, mostly.""Isn't three-o'clock a little early for breakfast?""Meal timing is a social construct." Carmilla shoved another bite in her mouth. "This is dinner."





	sojourner

So, the common room couch was just as uncomfortable as it looked. It was lumpy all over, with protruding springs that jabbed at her spine, and more than its fair share of mysterious stains. Laura shifted irritably. Honestly, it felt kind of gross even touching it. Who knows what ungodly acts it had seen.

Still, it was better than the floor. The carpet, and actually the room itself, still smelled faintly of the weird egg-and-vodka concoction that had been the centerpiece of Truth or Dare last weekend. 

"Ugh." She dug her face into her pillow, inhaling fabric softener instead. "Stupid Betty and her stupid date."

As far as roommates went, Betty Spielsdorf wasn't bad. Laura actually rather liked her. She was upbeat, friendly, and hadn't laughed when she'd unpacked her boxes full of Harry Potter memorabilia. No, Betty was a good friend. She just wasn't the greatest roommate.

It seemed that Betty was aiming for the tried-and-true student experience. It seemed she was out every evening at one party of another, and the row of empty Jägermeister bottles beneath her bed was already sinfully high considering they were barely two months into the semester.

Unfortunately, Laura had been witness to the one-o'clock drunken stumble into their dorm her roommate had made. That wasn't unusual. But she'd been firmly liplocked with that weird, greasy-haired Zeta who hung around sometimes. Like, really firmly.

Not even Laura's presence had deterred the two of them. They'd fallen into Betty's bed together, ignoring her. By the time shirts came off, and thwacked Laura firmly in the face, she'd more than taken the message.

Hence, camping out on a couch in the common room, in a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top. Exiled from her own room, in the dead of night. With only a pillow and a throw blanket.

"Mmph." She buried her head further into her pillow, willing herself to sleep. It was hard, what with the metal coil trying to dig its way through her shoulder blades."Whyyyy?"

She'd tried LaF and Perry, but they were both away for the weekend. Perry's hometown was only a train ride away, and they'd both gone to visit her family. And Danny had been no dice, either. The party Betty had been at, apparently, was actually a Summer Soc mixer. 

"Is it too late to transfer?" Laura wondered, throwing her pillow aside, glaring up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, probably," a sleepy voice responded. "Late night crisis, sweetheart?"

If she weren't tangled up in her grandmother's woolen throw, Laura would probably have shot up to the ceiling in fright. As it was, she jerked sharply, almost twisting herself straight off the couch.

"Holy crabsticks!" she yelped. Then, catching sight of her company, she groaned. "What do you want, Carmilla?"

The dark-haired girl stuffed a mouthful of Chokoa Crunch into her mouth, scraping the bowl obnoxiously—and, wait, when did she make that? "Cereal, mostly."

Laura squinted dubiously at her. The hallway light was on outside, a sliver of illumination piercing the room, and she was acutely aware of the fact that Carmilla was wearing a far cry from her usual tight-pants-and-shirt combination. She was messy-haired, with almost illegally short shorts, and a baggy shirt.

"It's too late for this," Laura sighed. She reached out for her phone, checking the time. "Or early, I guess. Ugh. Isn't three-o'clock a little early for breakfast?"

"Meal timing is a social construct." Carmilla shoved another bite in her mouth. "This is dinner."

Laura gave her a look. "I wonder about your life choices."

Carmilla shrugged. "Says the one trying to sleep on the communal sex couch."

That, if nothing else, provoked another wave of revulsion for her current circumstance. "Don't remind me." Laura dropped back into the cushions, ignoring the stabby spring. "I'm going to kill Betty."

"Oh? A murder plot, hm? Now you've got my attention." Literally. Carmilla wandered around the dining table, settling on the arm of the couch across from her. Laura studiously ignored the flash of creamy thighs as they crossed. "So, tell me, what did the so-called 'Jägerbombinatrix' do to provoke a murder plot from Silas' resident Good Girl™?"

Laura blinked at her. "Where did you hear that nickname?"

"I live across the hall from you, sweetheart. The walls are thin. I hear everything." Carmilla gave her a sly smirk, one that had her cheeks burning. "Now, enlighten me?"

"You live across the hall. Are you telling me you _can't_ hear Betty and her guest?"

Carmilla shrugged. "I wear headphones at night. Nothing like a bi-weekly drunken orgy to really put a damper on a girl's sleep schedule." She took another bite of cereal. "So, this your first time being sexiled?"

"What sleep schedule? I've literally never seen you before noon." Laura's nose wrinkled. "And don't call it that."

"I'm productive at night," Carmilla stated. "And I call it like I see it."

"Betty's never brought anybody back to our room before. She usually goes to theirs, I guess." Laura gave a helpless shrug. "I'm just lucky I managed to grab a pillow before they got too, ugh, involved."

That provoked something like a cackle from Carmilla. "And you're sleeping on this rancid piece of furniture, why?"

"Not sleeping, exactly," Laura grumbled. "And my friends aren't an option. It's either this, or the floor. And considering last week, I really don't think I want to go anywhere near the carpet anytime soon."

Even Carmilla couldn't withhold a grimace at that. "Ugh, don't remind me. Childish idiots."

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Laura slid up the couch, tucking her legs to her chest. "Do you  _ever_ sleep?"

"No." It was delivered deadpan. "I'm an immortal vampire. We don't need sleep."

"That'd be a lot more convincing if I hadn't seen you fall asleep in our philosophy lecture every Wednesday." She gave Carmilla an appraising look. "Though, you may not want to repeat that around LaF. They'd never leave you alone until they got a DNA sample."

"Keep your bio-nerd friend away from me," Carmilla huffed. She tilted her head at Laura, and the moonlight from the window caught her face, made her look every bit the pale-skinned vampire she claimed to be. "I'm just here to raid the pantry. Not all of us have to worry about idiot roommates dragging back dudebros every night. Thankfully."

"You don't have a roommate?"

Carmilla yawned. "The last one didn't last long. They never do."

"That's not terrifying at all." Laura gave her a hard squint. "Suddenly not so convinced you're  _not_ a vampire."

"You, and half the school." A roguish grin accompanied that statement. "They can believe what they want. All I know is, it's been a glorious semester since the last little Frosh ran home. Twice the room, for half the price."

Laura sighed. "Sounds like a dream right now."

"Definitely better than  _this_ ," Carmilla gave the couch a poke, nose wrinkling. "I don't envy you, sweetheart."

"I have a study group in—" she checked her phone, swallowed another groan. "—T-minus five hours, for probably one of the biggest group projects of the year, and I am going to be  _nonfunctional_. I'm eighty-percent sure I'm actually dead. Is this hell?"

"This room? Or Silas University as a whole?" Carmilla asked. "Because yes. To both."

Laura's head dropped backwards, eyes turning back to the ceiling. "I'm going to die."

"A few hours sleep deprivation's never killed anyone, cupcake."

That earned her an ire-filled look. "You don't get to say that until you actually make it through class  _without_ napping." That provoked an irritated mumble, something to the effect of  _and listen to that useless hack professor?_   from Carmilla. "If I don't get at least three hours, I'm going to be a monster. Certifiably."

"Oh, so you were  _that_ kid at sleepovers, huh?" Carmilla shoved the last of the soggy cereal into her mouth, then drank the chocolate-flavored milk with gusto. "I bet you spent the whole time shouting at everybody to go to bed."

"I never had any sleepovers," Laura admitted. Then, she carried on, a little offended, "I just value a regular sleep schedule."

Carmilla raised an eyebrow. "Never?"

"I was the only openly-gay girl in my small town, with an overly protective Dad, who had seen too many movies." Laura scowled. "I'm pretty sure he was convinced that, if I went, I was going to get tarred and feathered. Or covered in pig's blood." She shrugged slightly, flippant. "He was probably right, though. Yep. High school was  _not_ a fun time."

A moment of silence passed between them. Carmilla set the bowl down on the floor, staring at Laura, something unreadable passing through her eyes.

Laura averted her eyes, skin prickling. "I don't know why I told you that, wow." She coughed uncomfortably. "I guess the lack of sleep's getting to me, huh? Hah, yeah. Ahem."

"Would you like to?"

She blinked, eyes jumping back to Carmilla. "Huh?"

"Have a sleepover, I guess." Arms crossed, Carmilla avoided her gaze. "I mean, I don't have a roommate, and it's better than that disgusting couch. If it'll keep you from being a monster tomorrow, you can stay with me."

Suddenly, Laura's whole view of the infamous Carmilla Karnstein—sarcastic, rude, perpetually grumpy, and notorious for scathing comments—shifted. There, at too-early-o'clock in the morning, with her messy hair and no makeup, awkwardly inviting her to sleep in her room…

"Yeah," Laura said, before she could change her mind. "That'd be…really nice. If you don't mind."

Carmilla stood suddenly. "Sure. Come on."

"Great." She stared mutely at Carmilla's shoulder blades, the way her hair fell loose between them, and—

"Sometime this century?"

Laura blinked, cheeks flushing. "Right!" She jumped up, gathering her blanket and pillow. "Right! Lead the way."

They left the room together, Carmilla leading, Laura trotting awkwardly after her. She absently noted that Carmilla hadn't even cleaned up her cereal bowl. Because of course she hadn't. But, in light of the incredibly nice (and uncharacteristic) favor Carmilla was doing her, well, Laura didn't point it out.

Laura considered the door to 307 as they stopped outside of Carmilla's room, then promptly cringed at the loud moan echoing down the hall. "It's been, like, three hours. Really?"

Carmilla shrugged, kicking open her door. "Fratboy with a respectable refractory period. Impressive." She entered, waving Laura in after her. "C'mon."

She made her way through the door, to a room lit with candles and fairy lights—which, seemed as much Carmilla's style as it was surprising to see. What wasn't surprising, however, was the mess. There were piles of clothes, empty bowls, and discarded books all over the place. It was like a hurricane had come through. The desk didn't actually look like a desk, it looked like a dumping ground for her entire wardrobe.

"Wow," Laura gaped, glancing around. "It's…uh…nice?"

A baleful look was thrown over Carmilla's shoulder, as she shuffled her way over to the bed. "Are you seriously going to judge my house keeping when you were sleeping on a couch people have been defiled on?"

"No! No, I'm not saying anything!" Except, she did kind of want to ask if Carmilla had ever heard of a vacuum. "It's nice, really! I like the candles, and the lights, it's great!"

Carmilla threw back the covers on her bed. "Well, come on."

Laura paused, blinking. "Wait—" she took in the sight of the double bed, or more specifically, the two single beds that had been shoved together in the middle of the room. "Uh, where's my bed?"

"You're looking at it." She shoved another pile of clothing off the left side of the bed, patting it invitingly. "The best part of having no roommate is a double bed."

She bit her lip. "We're…sharing?"

"Is that a problem?" Carmilla asked, eyebrow raised. "It's pretty much sleepover 101, creampuff. Don't go giving me that look. I'm fully capable of sharing a bed with a girl  _without_ trying anything, are you?"

Laura scowled. "Of course!"

"Then what's the issue?" Carmilla smothered a yawn. "Now, come on. Unless you'd rather take that ratty couch again. Be my guest."

Squaring her shoulders, Laura shut the door to 308 behind her. Then, setting her phone on the nightstand, deliberately not looking at Carmilla, she laid her bedding out on the left side. The yellow pillow was placed and fluffed, then the throw was laid over the end of the bed. "Alright," she took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Carmilla rolled her eyes. "You're just sharing a bed with me, not heading off to war.  _Relax_."

"I've never done this before!"

"Not even with girls?" Laura flushed at the implication, and it made Carmilla's brow raise. "Well, I'm honored, sweetheart. And also tired. So get in bed, before I regret my decision any more than I already do."

Laura opened her mouth to say something, probably irate, before she clamped it down. The idea of a real, actual bed was tempting. She really didn't need to be exiled twice in one night, and sharing a bed with Carmilla was better than dealing with the most uncomfortable couch in existence. Between mental discomfort and physical discomfort, she knew which one she preferred.

"Okay." Laura slid onto the bed, hyper-aware of Carmilla's eyes on her. She pulled the covers high up her shoulder, to her chin. "Well, good night!"

A long moment of silence passed, in which Carmilla stared at her with a bemused look on her face. There was an amused tilt to her lips, though. And, eventually, Carmilla shook her head and turned over. "Night, sweetheart."

Laura would deny, to her grave, the way that her heart skipped a beat at that.

Carmilla Karnstein had always been infuriating, from the moment they'd met on Laura's first day. She'd crashed, quite literally, into the other girl. And, despite trying to make nice, Carmilla had only ever been snarky and rude to her since. She'd been convinced Carmilla hated her. And now, she was sharing a bed with her.

The heat she could feel, the burning awareness of Carmilla's body inches from hers, wouldn't leave her alone. 

The sudden silence in the room was stifling, and laying still on her back, she chanced a few glances at the other girl just to see if she looked as awkward as Laura felt. But she was just curled on her side, legs curled upward, hugging her pillow. She didn't seem remotely bothered—but then, Carmilla was as unflappable as they came.

Laura swallowed back a sudden urge to talk, the word babble that came second nature. She was suddenly really glad she'd never had a sleepover. Because every inch of her was rigid, fists clenched in the covers, refusing to relax. She was more awake than she'd been all night.

She wasn't sure how long she laid like that, staring up at the ceiling. She traced the flickering candle light, counted the fairy lights, and then busied herself with trying to spot constellations in the plastic glowing stars she noticed stuck to the ceiling. Eventually, she closed her eyes, willing sleep. But nothing, nada.

"Stop thinking so loud," Carmilla grumbled, rolling over.

Laura jumped. "What does that even mean?"

"I can feel you freaking out from here." Her eyes were tired, and so, so close. "Do you even know how to relax?"

"I know how to relax!" She defended. "I'm just…not very relaxed right now. I don't think counting sheep is working."

Carmilla let out a low groan. "You're killing me."

"Sorry. I'm just…not used to this." Laura flapped her hands helplessly. "I've never done the whole 'in bed with a girl' thing. Or a boy. Or anyone, for that matter. The last time I shared a bed with anybody, it was with my parents, and I was like five."

"Well, just relax, stop freaking out. It's just two people, sharing a bed, for…convenience." Carmilla prodded her shoulder, provoking a chill up Laura's arm. "No ulterior motives. So stop working yourself up."

"Easier said than done," Laura muttered.

"God," Carmilla moaned. "I don't deserve this."

"I'm sorry," Laura said, again, rolling onto her side and preparing to climb back out of bed. "I'll just go back to this couch, this is too—I mean, I'm not sure I'll sleep much anyway, and I'm sure you'll sleep better without me, so—"

A hand caught her elbow, before she could slide out of the blankets. "Laura. Stop, seriously."

She paused.

"You'll never get to sleep on that disgusting old couch." It was a statement of fact, one they both knew. "Just stay here. I…don't mind. Really."

Laura turned her head, considering the earnest and, well, vulnerable expression on Carmilla's face. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." She nodded, rolling to face her. "Oh."

They were suddenly so much closer. Carmilla had moved to grab her elbow, and when Laura turned to face her, they were barely separated. She could feel heat coming off of every inch of Carmilla, like a space heater, and she suddenly knew that anybody who inferred she was a vampire was lying—no vampire could be so warm.

Carmilla stared mutely back at her, and her eyes were so warm and brown. The candle light slipped across her face, giving it a brilliant, indescribable glow.

Laura was struck, suddenly, by how gorgeous she was.

_Oh. Oh, no._

This was every cliche fanfiction she'd ever read, all rolled into one.

Carmilla's eyes darted to her lips, then back up. "Hey."

Her stomach dropped, fluttering, and she absently licked her lips.

"Uh." Could she hear Laura's heart? Probably. "Hey."

They stared at each other for a long moment, caught, unable to look away. It was like a tether was tied between the two of them, a thread of intent, unable to be shaken off.

"It's late," Carmilla said, turning her eyes away from Laura—and, was that a _blush_?—then rolling back over. "Good night, Laura."

Laura stared at her back for a long moment, blinking, heart thundering inexplicably in her chest. "Yeah," she croaked out, eventually. "Good night, Carm."

Yeah, she wasn't sure she was sleeping any time soon.

 

* * *

 

The next afternoon, Carmilla woke up to an empty bed and a note on her nightstand.

" _Thanks for last night. I owe you big time. If you're actually awake before 5PM tomorrow, we should get dinner. My treat,"_ Carmilla read. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand: 1:33PM. " _Thanks. Laura."_

She blinked, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I'd like that," she murmured to her empty room. "Very much."

**Author's Note:**

> Everybody, avert your eyes away from my unfinished multi-chaptered stuff. I know. I should be updating those, but writer's block is chronic. I'm just going through tropes and AU prompts to get a little inspiration.


End file.
